Flyers have regimen for non-Olympians

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- As of now, five Flyers will be headed to Sochi, Russia for the Winter Games Sunday.

Kimmo Timonen (Finland), Andrej Meszaros (Slovakia), Mark Streit (Switzerland), Jake Voracek (Czech Republic) and Michael Raffl (Austria) will head overseas for the tournament. Of course, if Steven Stamkos can't go for Team Canada, Claude Giroux might join the club and make it the "Sochi Six."

While the Olympians will keep playing, their teammates stay home or go on a short vacation.

"I’m gonna go away for a few days and just kind of get my head away from working out and that kind of stuff," Scott Hartnell said, "and then get back to Philly early and get back going again."

Waiting for him, and anyone else that decides to take a quick vacation, will be an optional workout regimen. The Flyers aren't allowed to have contact with their players during the Olympic break until Feb. 19, so they're hoping the players keep active during the break before NHL practices resume.

"Keep yourself ready," coach Craig Berube said of his message to his team during the break. "I think the break’s good, but I think making sure you’re working out and training is important."

Three more games, including tonight against the Sharks, are on the Flyers' agenda before they can take a rest. The off-ice workout plan is just to keep players fresh and prevent injury when the players begin skating as a team again.

"Once you get a couple days to relax, it’s gonna be good because of the busy schedule," defenseman Nick Grossmann said. "You kind of recharge your batteries and take care of your body. It’s gonna be good. We’re not there yet, but once those days come around your body welcomes it."

It sure took the Flyers a while to get their feet under them to start the season. They began 1-7. There's no thought to another slow start after the break, though.

"We’ll have a lot of practices to get back in the hockey mindset," Hartnell said. "If you go to sit on the beach for the week or whatever, there will be time to get re-adjusted to the position we’re in, in the playoffs and where we need to go and what we need to do to get into the playoffs."

"The guys going to the Olympics will be different, obviously," Berube added, "but the guys that are staying here, they’re gonna have a lot of energy and will be ready to go when we get back."